The experiment
by the crazy cat lady
Summary: The injections were to make us as human as possible; we would sleep, breath, eat, lose our powers and strength, as well as our speed. they choose one member from each coven. Me, Carlisle, Zafrina, Siobhan and Amun were the ones that volunteered, as the leaders of our covens we felt like it was our responsibility to take the risk. Apparently it didnt mix well with animal blood.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing but the story line.**

**Tanya POV**

We laughed among ourselves, giddy and tense with nervous excitement. Zafrina and Carlisle bickered over something that didn't exist, probably just to distract themselves from what was about to happen.

Heidi produced a long thin needle and squirted some of the clear fluid it contained into the air. I watched as if it were a cliché scene out of a movie.  
"Who's first?" she asked, waving the thing in the air. None of us moved a muscle.  
"I'll do it," Amun said reluctantly after a still silence. He stepped forward exposing his arm. Heidi dug for a vein, apparently finding one easily, and then he was done, stepping back into our clustered group. I noticed him rubbing his arm repeatedly, his eyes wet with tears he couldn't cry. It must have hurt more than they wanted to tell us. Zafrina put her arm half around him, rubbing his back. He shrugged her off as Carlisle stepped forward.

Heidi eyed him suspiciously, as if she were worried.  
"What?" he asked, unnerved by her.  
"Nothing major," she replied. "Just not sure how well this going to go down with your animal blood, that's all."  
He gave her his arm. As soon as she put it in I knew something was wrong. Thin red streaks raced up his arms where his veins should have been. He let out a low hiss and she glanced up at him.  
"Do you want me to take it out?"  
"Keep going," he murmured. He didn't sound as upset as I thought he would.  
"I think I missed…" she told him after a few moment of wriggling it.  
"It's okay, just take it out and put it back in again."  
She did, and then repeated the action four more times and was still unsuccessful.

"Try me," Zafrina said. She unsheathed another needle and did it easily. Carlisle looked uneasy. The red was still spidered up his arm.

Me and Siobhan looked at each other and then I stepped forward.

It hurt an incredible amount. Even just the metal piercing my skin burnt like I had been bitten again. I couldn't help the whimper that escaped me as she pushed the fluid in. It stung as it travelled along my vein, as if lighting a fire inside of me.  
"It's okay," Carlisle hugged me and I realised I was sobbing.  
"I don't think it hurt me that much," Zafrina told Heidi. Heidi shook her head.  
"It wouldn't have, it's because she's a vegetarian. That's why I'm worried about him," she gestured to Carlisle. "Because he hasn't fed on human blood he's vulnerable to everything."  
He shrugged. "I haven't died yet."  
She rolled her eyes and stuck the injection in Siobhan who flinched but didn't do much more.

She then turned back to Carlisle. After nine attempts, she still hadn't gotten a vein to put it in, and he was almost in tears. She had tried both arms and the backs of his hands.  
"Can I try?" he asked her. His voice shook as much as his hands were. She looked at him sceptically, but held out the needle. He took it and I could see him trying to calm himself down.  
He slid it under his skin at his wrist, the syringe going into the palm of his hand.

We cheered when he was successful. He looked like he was going to be sick.  
"Come on you, inside," Zafrina said, pulling him in the door of where we were going to be staying.

_The injections were to make us as human as possible; we would sleep, breath, eat, lose our powers and strength, as well as our speed. The Volturi needed someone to test it on, so they choose one member from each coven. Me, Carlisle, Zafrina, Siobhan and Amun were the ones that volunteered, as the leaders of our covens we felt like it was our responsibility to take the risk. Apparently it didn't mix well with animal blood.  
Now we were staying in a house together in the Volturi castle where they could keep an eye on us. Aro claimed it was 'bonding' experience, as if we weren't close enough already for it to be a danger to him.  
For now, until the medicine kicked in, we had things like indestructible furniture to make us feel as human as possible. _

"You okay?" I asked Carlisle, more for my comfort than his. He was half lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling with his feet still on the floor.  
"Yeah, are you?" He obviously wasn't.  
"Yes." Neither of us were. My entire body felt as though I had been hit by a truck, everything ached and my stomach kept rolling, threatening to make me sick. I guessed he felt the same, if not worse. He pretty much hadn't moved since we got in.  
"2 minutes and 35 seconds," he said quietly.  
"What?" I asked confused.  
"I can only hold my breath for 2:35."  
"Oh." I started counting as well. "4:09."  
"Damn."  
I laughed and he sighed, moving to sit up a bit more.  
"Are you coming to try the food that they brought us?" I asked. There was a full feast on the kitchen table. He looked hesitant.  
"Um…I guess so…" He got to his feet and followed me out to where the others were.

"HE LIVES!" Amun cheered when we came out.  
"Yay…" mumble Carlisle in return, nowhere near as enthusiastic. I sat and he sat next to me.  
Food was put in front of us.  
To be fair to them, it did look nice, but when I put it in my mouth all it tasted like was cardboard.  
"Is it supposed to taste like something?" Zafrina asked the cook.  
"When the vaccine had kicked in fully, yes," the cook replied. We all laughed and kept eating the flavourless dinner.  
"Carlisle, you have to actually put food in your mouth," Siobhan whispered quietly to him. When I glanced over, all he was doing was chasing it around his plate with his fork. He shook his head subtly at her.  
The other two didn't seem to notice their exchange.

"Uh oh," Siobhan muttered quietly. I searched for the problem as she got up. Carlisle was gone. "I don't think he was ready to eat," she told me.  
"Oh," I said in understanding. She went down the hallway after him.

A few minutes later she was back. I raised my eyebrows at her.  
"He locked me out." She smiled when she said it, giggling a little bit.  
"Is he sick?" Zafrina asked.  
"Yep."  
"I thought he was the most human out of all of us," Amun muttered, joking even though it was true. We nodded.  
I noticed the more I ate, the less nauseous I became, which was peculiar. When we were done, we all fell into bed, surprisingly exhausted.

Slowly, I started to wake up. It was about 3am. I stared at the roof, trying not to fall back into my slumber. The dream had been far from a little disturbing.  
Feeling like a small child, I crept down the hallway and turned on all the lights in the longue and kitchen. Then I curled up on the couch, rolling up into a ball. I tried not to cry.  
"What are you doing up?" someone asked me. I turned around to seek the source of the voice.  
"I-I couldn't sleep…?" I told Carlisle sheepishly. I wasn't about to tell him I had had a nightmare and was scared. "What about you? Are you okay?" He wiped the back of his hand across his face. I noticed it was damp as though he had been crying and his cheeks were slightly pink. It didn't really make sense seeming as we could neither cry or blush.  
"Yes, me neither." He sat down next to me, pulling his knees up and resting his chin on them. Silence enveloped us.  
"What's wrong?" I asked after a rather long pause. He wiped his face again, subconsciously.  
"Don't laugh…"  
I giggled. "I promise."  
"You just did! I'm not telling you now." He looked away but he was smiling.  
"Please?"  
"It's stupid but…I had a nightmare…oh god that sounds even more childish out loud." He laughed and hid his face from me. I laughed as well; glad I wasn't the only one. Maybe it was a side effect. "I told you you would laugh," he mumbled quietly.  
"I'm not laughing at you."  
"Sure."  
"No, really, I'm laughing cause I had one too. That's why I'm out here."  
"Now we're both babies."  
"Yep."

Some form of animal landed heavily on the roof, creating a loud band. We both jumped and slid closer to each other at the same time, giggling when we realised what the other person was doing.  
"I feel so stupid right now," he murmured.  
"So do I." After a while I caught myself drifting in and out of sleep. "I think I need to go back to bed," I told him.  
He nodded but I thought I could see fear reflected in his eyes. I contemplated staying, but I could barely stay awake. As soon as I was asleep the dream returned.

"Hey, what happened with Carlisle last night?" Amun whispered to me while we fixed breakfast. He looked worried.  
"I don't know, what makes you ask?" Even though it was eleven o'clock, I had only just gotten up and had missed the mornings events.  
"I'm not sure, but Zafrina blanked him or something to get him to calm down. He was freaking out, I think maybe about what Heidi said…" he kept talking, but I wasn't listening.  
"I'll be back soon," I interrupted him, already walking away.

"Can I come in?" I asked, knocking on his partially closed door.  
"Yes," he replied quietly. I opened it, coming and sitting on the bed. He was sitting on the edge with his head in his hands.  
"Carlisle…" I put my arm around his waist. He squirmed but otherwise let me. "Do you not feel well?"  
"No…"  
"Then what's wrong?"  
"Tired," he mumbled.  
"Why don't you go to sleep then?" I asked gently, smiling at how young he sounded. It reminded me that he was the youngest by quite a lot out of the five of us. It had to be by at least 260 years.  
He shook his head. "Because…because I'll dream again." I recognised his panic attack before it even started. "I want to go home," he said quietly, getting up and starting pacing.  
"No you don't, you just need to go to sleep, then you'll feel better about everything." The previous morning he had been more excited about this than anyone, even Aro.  
"How long do we have to stay here?"  
"As long as Aro says so, until his little experiment is complete. You know that, Carlisle." He started hyperventilating.  
"And how long is that?"  
"You're going to make yourself dizzy, slow down a bit."  
"Tanya-" He really was panicking now.  
"I don't know," I admitted. "Stop Carlisle." I got up and grabbed him so he was still.

The warmth under his skin made me gasp. I could feel a weak pulse. Fear rooted itself deep in my stomach. Nobody had told us about this. It wasn't supposed to happen.  
"Do you feel okay? I mean a part from tired?" I asked cautiously, trying not to show him my fear.  
He hesitantly shook his head 'no'. "Do you still feel sick from yesterday?" he asked.  
"No, not since dinner."  
He bit his lip and looked away. "I think something's wrong with me…" he said quietly, almost a whimper.  
"Why, what's wrong?"  
"Everything."

**Please Review (:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Tanya POV**

Within the hour Carlisle was throwing up everything he swallowed. Although he tried to fight dehydration by forcing down water, it all just came straight back up. Nothing he did seemed to help and he was sick at least once every fifteen minutes. To make it worse, none of us could stand being near him for too long; him throwing up definitely wasn't helping my nausea any.**  
**"How are you doing?" Zafrina asked cautiously, standing in the doorway of his room while he sat on the bathroom floor, hugging his legs and resting his head on his knees.  
"…okay…" he mumbled, surprisingly calm considering the situation.  
"Liar," she chuckled. "Tell me the truth."  
He hesitated, shrugging. "I'm kind of hoping I might pass out soon…"  
She sighed and moved to crouch in front of him. "Why are you so warm? They never said this would happen." She pressed her fingers against his face and she unintentionally leant against her hand. "Do you feel hot?"  
He shook his head. "…Really cold…"  
"Why don't you lie down for a while?" she suggested. "Maybe if you sleep you'll feel better…"  
In response he scrambled forward to be sick, one arm wrapped tightly around his stomach while he used the other to push his hair off his face.  
"Jesus, Carlisle. What are we going to do with you?" She leant her head back against the wall, blowing out a breath.  
"I want to go home," he managed between breaths.  
"Soon," she promised, pulling him back against her. "Soon enough."  
Squeezing himself a little tighter, he only just smothered a moan, struggling to sit up again.  
"You want to get up?" she asked skeptically.  
"Hmm…" he nodded timidly, letting her pull him to his feet.  
"Careful," she warned, steadying him as he stumbled.  
Even going the ten steps to bed seemed like an intense effort for him, and his relief to be lying was obvious.  
"Be good," Zafrina told him as she passed me, pushing out the door. "You're rather pale too, Tanya. Don't you start on me," she teased, briefly squeezing my hand.  
I followed her back up the hallway, unable to stand being around Carlisle like this.

I had the same dream again, and was equally as terrified. The hallway seemed like a dark and scary option, but the faint glow of a light made it seem like my best bet. It frightened me a little to realise it was Carlisle's, but at the same time I was relieved.  
"Carlisle?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady as I pushed his door open. "What are you still doing up-" I stopped when I realised that he wasn't actually awake in the first place, but had rather fallen asleep with the lamp on. Unable to keep from smiling now, I quietly took his book off this bed before he knocked it onto the floor, marking his place and setting it on the bedside table. Even in the faint light I could see how horribly unwell he was; he was so, so pale and had partially curled up, trying to stop the pain in his stomach. His hair stuck to him in the tell-tale sign of fever and his face was flushed. As I reached over to pull the blankets over him, he mumbled something unintelligible, stirring slightly. "What's this?" I asked him, sitting on the edge of the bed when he glanced up at me. From his expression I couldn't tell whether he approved of my actions or not.  
"W-what time…D-do I h-have to get up..?" he stammered quietly, unsurely.  
"It's two o'clock in the morning, Carlisle," I chuckled, running my hand across his back. "You _have_ to stay there at least another four hours before its acceptable to get up.  
"W-what are y-you doing t-then?"  
"Remember last night what happened? That."  
His fingers found mine and he squeezed my hand but stayed silent.  
"Are you okay?" I asked him, repressing a shudder at the temperature of his skin. I could faintly hear his heart, although it was irregular and muffled.  
He didn't reply, his hold on my fingers tightening.  
"I wish I could help you," I sighed, hugging him the best I could while he was lying down.  
"Y-you are h-helping," he mumbled to humour me.  
"Move over," I instructed, pushing him a little. Once he had done as I'd asked, I lay beside him, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him against me again. "You're so warm," I told him again.  
Already starting to fall asleep again, he moulded his body to the shape of mine, resting his cheek against my shoulder. It seemed to comfort him as much as it did me.  
"So," I teased. "Carlisle Cullen is secretly cuddly."  
"S-shut up." He laughed quietly despite himself. "You g-got into b-bed with me. Y-you started it."  
"Fair enough." I hugged his waist, grateful for the contact.

When I woke up, I wasn't immediately sure of the reason why. And then I realised; I was boiling hot. Trying to move away from Carlisle before I disturbed him too, it suddenly hit me. _I _wasn't hot, it was him. His temperature was way too high and I knew there was absolutely no way he was comfortable at all, although still unconscious.  
"Carlisle, wake up," I nudged him gently, needing him to speak to tell me what to do.  
He didn't respond to me at all.  
"Carlisle!" I shook him again, a little more rough this time.  
"Esme?" he asked sleepily.  
"No, it's me," I corrected, waiting for him become coherent enough for me to have an actual conversation with him.  
"W-what are you doing here? I-I didn't know you were coming," he mumbled, sounding confused and a little dazed.  
"Carlisle, we're in Volterra. You know this. Me, you and the others, remember?"  
"D-did Garrett come with you?"  
"What?" Now I was as confused as he was, if not more.  
"G-Garrett…"  
"Is in Alaska. With Kate."  
"B-but y-you said…Volterra…"  
"_We're _in Volterra. My coven is in Alaska, and yours is in Forks."  
"…W-why? B-but you said the others…E-Esme…" He rubbed his hand across his face, and just by his movements I could tell he had a headache.  
Holding the back of my fingers against his forehead, I called out to Zafrina.  
"What's up?" she asked, looking around the door. "It's too early…"  
"Carlisle's sick."  
"I know."  
"No, I mean like really, _really_ sick. His temperature is really high and he's not thinking properly. I don't think he knows what's happening…"  
"Dammit." She pushed me out of the way and forced him to sit up, making him whimper at the sharp movement.  
He immediately tried to curl up again, whatever pain he was in becoming unbearable. His whole body trembled violently.  
"Sit up, Carlisle," she told him, forcibly holding him straight.  
"Esme-" he started but she cut him off.  
"No. You're going to drink now, alright? And we're going to get Heidi back in here to see what's happening to you." She left the room and returned with a glass of what I assumed to be water. "Swallow this, please."  
"What is it?" I asked, unsure now.  
She chuckled lowly. "It's only water, don't panic. But it's cold. I was hoping if we could cool his core temperature enough he might be able to tell us how to help…"  
"If he can keep it down long enough," Amun muttered cynically from the door frame.  
She frowned. "You still feeling sick?"  
He just looked at her, dazed.  
"Amun, go and ring Heidi please," she sighed.

The Volturi vampire didn't offer much help at all, really. She just forced some pills into him and sent him back to bed. At dinner time he came and sat with us but he didn't eat, no matter how hard Siobhan tried to coax him into it. The food really did taste good this time, just like they'd promised. I also noticed that I could no longer break things just by squeezing them. But of course, the boys just had to test the limit of the 'indestructible' furniture.  
"You have to turn the screw the other way, idiot," Amun chuckled, watching Carlisle fail. The pair of them had the couch lying on it's side, trying to pull it apart.  
"Shut up. I'm a doctor, not a mechanic," he retorted, smiling despite looking like he might pass out any second.  
"A doctor that should be in bed," Siobhan muttered. She stood next to while we watched them, Zafrina staring at the TV to try and ignore them as best as possible.  
"I'm fine."  
"You look like death."  
"Thanks," he rolled his eyes. "What a compliment."  
"Carlisle," she sighed. "You're making me nervous."  
"I feel better than this morning. Maybe it's working properly now."  
"You're just loaded up on drugs," she teased.  
"I promise you, if I'm going to throw up, I wont do it near you."  
"I don't trust that," she laughed. "There's no way you can move that quickly."  
"I didn't say I would make it to the bathroom," he smirked. "I just said I would be away from you."  
"Cant you just go to bed?"  
"Nope. I need to break something."  
"That's such a _guy_ thing to want to do." She rolled her eyes at him.  
Before he could offer a reply, one of the nails gave way and the wood shifted a little, causing Carlisle to yelp and jump back and making the rest of us laugh at him.  
"One down, about fifty to go," Amun laughed. "Give me the screw driver. You're doing it wrong anyway."  
"It's for screws, not for nails," he grumbled, but gave it to him. "Cant we just jump on it?"  
"Oh please," he teased. "You're so light it would break _you_."  
"Let's try, then."  
"Carlisle, no." Zafrina shook her head at him, proving she was listening after all. "And he's supposedly got a medical degree," she snickered.  
He stayed quiet, not pushing his luck, and came to stand beside me. "How are you feeling?"  
"Okay, actually," I smiled, happy my best friend was next to me rather than on the brink of getting injured by a misused tool. "But you're still warm…" I slid my arm around his waist, pulling him against my side and resting my head on his shoulder.  
"I don't feel that bad though," he told me. "Just a little weird."  
"You _always_ a little weird," I giggled.  
"So shoot me." After a minute or so he pulled away, pulling his phone out of his pocket. I could guess what he was doing without asking; calling Esme. Both Amun and Siobhan had rung their mates earlier, Zafrina called Senna to tell her how things were working out, and I rang Eleazar, happy to hear someone from home. Still though, when he came back to us a while later, he didn't look happy or comforted like everyone else did after their conversations. Instead he nervously bit the inside of his cheek, watching the ground. He didn't go back to helping Amun, and eventually excused himself to go back to his room.

"I think someone is home sick," Zafrina murmured, glancing at the door and then back at us.  
"That's actually kind of cute," Siobhan giggled.  
"He hasn't been away from her like this before," I realised suddenly.  
"He'll get over it," Amun assured us. "I go over being away from Kebi after a while, and Siobhan doesn't look to be moping."  
"I'm moping inside," she pouted, electing a bout of laughter from the rest of us.  
"He'll cope," he insisted. "Carlisle is not a child. The three of you need to stop mothering him. I guarantee you he's uncomfortable with it."  
"He's not well, Amun," Zafrina scolded, frowning at him.  
"So? Leave him be. Smothering isn't going to help. Just let him have some personal space."  
We nodded, seeing the sense in it, but still I didn't like the thought of not checking on him continually.  
"If something happens to him, I'm blaming you," Siobhan growled, stalking out of the room.

**An update after over a year…Gee, aren't I organised (not) **


End file.
